Charter operators in San Diego growing restless
Parimal M. RohitJanuary 24,
2019
By-the-book charter boat owners express
frustration over slow-moving process to regulate illegal
charters.
SAN DIEGO—Frustrations over the how the Port of
San Diego is handling the presence of illegal charter operations in California’s southernmost
harbor appeared to boil over toward the end of 2018, with legal operators openly questioning
why the port’s board of commissioners have yet to at least consider a drafted policy on the
issue.
The battle between legal and illegal charter
operators has been ongoing for several years now, and the port district, in 2018, stated it
would work with the Coast Guard and local stakeholders to implement a policy regulating the
presence of boats-for-hire in San Diego Harbor.
A joint task force was recently launched to
facilitate the drafting and enactment of an illegal charter policy, but those directly – and
negatively – affected by illegal charter operations at San Diego Harbor are beyond frustrated
by what they believe is a lack of action by the port district, Coast Guard and
others.
Many were hopeful a draft policy would already
be on the table – with approval and implementation not too far
away.
Port of San Diego Harbor Police Chief Mark
Stainbrook, during the Board of Port Commissioners’ Dec. 11, 2018 meeting, said while there
have been delays a draft policy is almost ready to be
presented.
“We have a draft proposed port ordinance that
we’re reviewing, and, as promised, although it’s a little delayed, we’ll get back to having a
public outreach,” Stainbrook told commissioners. “We do continue to work with the Coast Guard
to board illegal charters. The Coast Guard has their rules and ordinances for illegal
charters and we have what we have.”
Carole Noska, who operates a charter boat
service, nonetheless cited an August 2018 letter from Stainbrook stating a draft policy could
be available before the start of 2019.
She also asked commissioners why various illegal
charter services who have already been identified by the port’s law enforcement were not
served with cease-and-desist notices.
“The joint task force team, with Coast Guard and
Harbor Police, have been boarding illegal passenger charters and escorting them back to their
marinas [or public docks],” Noska told commissioners. “Now that it is clear who the illegal
charters are – since you’re escorting them back to the dock – we don’t understand why you are
not serving them with cease-and-desist orders until they can comply with the new
ordinances.”
Noska added a group of legal charter operators
in San Diego are looking into a class action filing against the port
district.
John Valente of San Diego Bay Cruises said the
port district is long overdue to have an ordinance drafted and
vetted.
“It is just, basically, an ordinance we are
looking for. A little bit of time is acceptable and reasonable but we’re going on five years
with this issue,” Valente told commissioners. “We were promised a joint task force where
everybody said they’re working together and then, independently, they’re saying, ‘that’s not
my job.’
“It’s just policy. It should just be written,”
Valente continued.
Both Noska and Valente suggested the port
district, based upon how the process has played out so far, effectively condoned illegal
charter activity.
Stainbrook, meanwhile, told commissioners the
task force is doing all it can to ensure the positions and perspectives of all stakeholders
are factored into the drafted policy on San Diego’s illegal charter
operations.
“It’s a complex issue. It takes a little time,”
Stainbrook said of the process. “We’re trying to look at this
holistically.”
Illegal charter operations has indeed been a hot
button item in San Diego – and other harbors in Orange County and Los Angeles – for several
years.
Coast Guard and San Diego Harbor Police
officials boarded Champagne on Sept. 2, 2018 as part of a law enforcement operation.
Champagne had been long been suspected of conducting illegal charter
operations.
Regulating illegal charter operations hasn’t
been an easy activity to regulate. There is the philosophical or economic debate, for
example. Is the regulation of any passenger-for-hire activity ultimately a restriction of
free market principles (as in, if people want to charter a boat, let them charter a boat)? Or
should the government be allowed to step in due to concerns of safety and
qualifications?
The other barrier is practicality – even if
there is a regulation on the books, enforcement is quite difficult. It’s not immediately
obvious to anyone whether a boat-for-hire is legitimate or navigating the waters against the
law. Illegal charter operations are often discovered via tips from those who frequently use
the harbor or a random boat boarding.
Looking ahead: the Board of Port Commissioners
could be considering a draft policy on illegal charter operations as early as March. The port
district told The Log it would soon schedule a meeting with stakeholders and provide them
with the latest updates.
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